Many communication networks support electronic messaging services, for example and without limitation, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), voicemail or e-mail. Generally, irrespective of network topology and message format, communication networks use some sort of message application server (e.g., Short Message Service Center (SMSC) or Multimedia Message Service Center (MMSC)) for processing electronic messages. Typically, the application servers use indicia of source and destination addresses (for example, directory numbers, IP addresses, e-mail addresses or the like) extracted from the message header to process the message. For example, SMSCs and MMSCs may use source and destination addresses extracted from the message header for routing, billing, caller ID or other purposes.
Increasingly, a problem encountered in the field of electronic messaging is the practice of message ‘spoofing’ (i.e., a sending party prefacing its messages with a falsified source address) so as to appear to originate from a sender other than the true sender and thereby disguise the identity of the true sender. For example, message spoofing may be practiced in the context of “spam” messages to mislead the receiving party as to the source of the message. As another example, spoofing technology can be used by an imposter to grant access to a spoofed party's voicemail account. Message spoofing might also be practiced in attempt to divert or impede billing for electronic messaging services.